Comparing Christianity & Hinduism

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Hinduism Worldview

The Question of Origin –

Hinduism considers no particular moment of origin. They believe everything as timeless and always existing. The oldest religious text of Hinduism are the Vedas (connote knowledge) containing hymns to various deities of the sun, moon, earth, sky, wind, and night. These deities did not create the world, although Brahman is considered to be the "all in one force" (Halverson). "Brahman is the womb of both the existent and the nonexistent" (Shattuck) and responsible for establishing the earth, sky and atmosphere the creator and the primary cause of reality in Hinduism.

The Question of Identity –

There is no sense of identity in Hinduism, because humanities identity is considered part of the ultimate reality. Hinduism believes men and women are manifestations from a "division of Brahman into two aspects one male and one female" (Shattuck). The man "Shiva" and women "Shakti" find their identity (becoming part of the ultimate reality) by obtaining enlightenment in "the individual self to lose its separate identity in the universal Self" (Shattuck) and achieve "union with an impersonal oneness" (Halverson).

The Question of Meaning/Purpose –

Hinduism is a revolving wheel of life, death and rebirth called Samsara better known as reincarnation. Hinduism believes this life cycle is directly related to a person's karma, which are the deeds they have done. "Karma determines the kind of body, whether human, animal, or insect, into which he or she is reincarnated in the next life" (Halverson). To effectively ending the life cycle one must obtain Liberation. Liberation is obtained by striving to remove desires of the ego "through realizing that only the undifferentiated oneness of Brahman is real" (...

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...achievement of enlightenment answers the question of destiny, but destiny for a Christian is receiving eternal life. There are many different paths to obtain enlightenment in Hinduism, which are "karma marga (the way of action and ritual, jnana marga (the way of knowledge and meditation), and bhakti marga (the way of devotion)" (Halverson). These paths are very different from Christian acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior to receive salvation. The Bible is very clear that there is only one way to God. "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" John 14:6.

Works Cited

Halverson, Dean C. Hinduism: A Religion Profile from International Students, Inc. : Colorado Springs, CO : International Students (1992): 8. Print.

Shattuck, Cybelle T. Hinduism. London: Routledge, 1999. Open WorldCat. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

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